Jailed ex-press baron Conrad Black loses appeal

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday
upheld the conviction of former press baron Conrad Black and
three ex-colleagues found guilty last year of defrauding
shareholders of one-time newspaper publishing giant Hollinger
International Inc.

The unanimous 16-page decision from a three-judge panel of
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected all
of the points lawyers for Black and the others made and
affirmed the trial court's ruling.

Black, a Canadian-born member of Britain's House of Lords,
has been in prison since March 3 when he began serving a
6-and-1/2 year sentence for fraud and obstructing justice.

The court similarly upheld the convictions of three former
Hollinger colleagues -- Peter Atkinson, John Boultbee and Mark
Kipnis -- who were convicted along with Black.

Black and the others were accused of swindling the company
-- once the world's third largest publisher of English language
newspapers -- out of $6.1 million by giving themselves illegal
bonuses.